By Shannon Heckt | Virginia Mercury
In a 4-1 vote, the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday approved a conditional use permit for Nebraska-based company Tenaska to build its second natural gas plant in the community. Hundreds of members of the community voiced and wrote their opposition to the project over the multi-month process for the permit application, which concluded at a meeting that went into the early hours of the morning Thursday.
The project is dubbed the Expedition Generating Station and will be able to produce 1540 megawatts of power – enough to power 1.5 million homes. It will be located directly across the street from the existing plant that has been housed in Scottsville.
The plant will be housed on 50 acres of a 450-acre parcel. The company has also promised to place 350 acres of nearby land into a permanent conservation easement.
The board’s move is a reversal of the Fluvanna Planning Commission’s 3-1 vote that the project was not in accord with the comprehensive plan of the county. But some supervisors said that when they considered how much power can be generated at the plant — as well as millions of dollars in tax revenue — those factors pushed their decision to approve it.
“Is the proposed project in my opinion a perfect fit? No. But nothing really is when you’re trying to balance two things that seemingly conflict all the time,” Supervisor Mike Goad said. “For me when you consider the footprint of the proposed project when compared to others that I’ve seen – I tend to err on the side of substantial accord.”
Grassroots community advocacy group Fluvanna Horizons Alliance represents some of the strongest voices opposing the project. Members of the group said at Wednesday’s meeting their core concerns are potential health risks from the gas plant’s emissions and sound pollution disturbing homes near the planned plant.
“This is all much bigger than Tenaska and bigger than Fluvanna and I hope you keep this big picture in your hearts and minds when you cast your votes tonight,” Angus Murdoch with the Rivanna Conservation Alliance told the board during the hearing.
Over 1,300 people signed a petition against the gas plant urging supervisors to deny the permit.
“Tenaska seeks a special-use permit to construct a second gas plant adjacent to its existing methane power plant in Fluvanna,” the Action Network petition reads. “The new plant would more than double its environmental impact on our air, water, and health, and Fluvanna will bear the health and environmental costs, while Tenaska reaps the profits.”
The project still has to get approval from the State Corporation Commission, the Department of Environmental Quality, and other permits before construction can begin.
